Sports Briefs

Quarter-midgets take on dirt, asphalt tracks

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Quarter-midget racers work the turns at the North Peninsula Recreation facility track in Nikiski on June 21.
Submitted photo

Quarter-midget racers work the turns at the North Peninsula Recreation facility track in Nikiski on June 21.

Submitted photo

The Kenai Penisula Racing Lions quarter-midget drivers had two race dates last week. On June 17, they raced on the dirt circle track at Twin Cities Raceway, putting on some great races between stock car and sprint car races. These races were dominated by Keith Porter, age 13, and Steven Young, age 11, driving their Nervo Chassis quarter-midgets.

The last lap of the main heat race was a real nailbiter when Young got past Porter on a restart but was unable to hold off Porter’s Turn 2 charge for the win. Russell Akers, 11, and Kendall Soares, 13, struggled with tire and gearing issues while Annita Braun, 12, had to scratch after qualifying second due to mechanical problems.

On June 21, the quarter-midgets switched their cars to pavement specs and setup a temporary track at the North Peninsula Recreation hockey rink parking lot. The racing at this location is as tight as it can get and all the finishes are very close. With only the quarter-midgets running at this location, they can put in a lot of time on the track and often wear out the adults before they are ready to stop.

This night was a game of who could hold the lead for the longest but at the end not many were able to keep it away from Braun, who managed to be there at the end of three heats and the main event. She was not able to make it a clean sweep of the night because Young managed to hold her off to win one of the four heat races. Akers, a rookie, continues to improve his lap times and we will see him truly in the hunt for a win soon. Porter had help from Jackie McGahan to find the right chassis setup for the night but then an incident in the main event put him out.

For more info on quarter-midget racing see the Kenai Peninsula Racing Lions Web site at www.KPRL.org or call Kurt Braun at 260-3926.